Frederick Chiluba is facing fresh claims in Zambia’s supreme court that he has no right to be the country’s president, reports Anthony Kunda in Lusaka
ZAMBIA may have fresh presidential elections, if petitions to be filed this Friday by two opposition parties against President Frederick Chiluba in the country’s supreme court are successful.
Five lawyers representing former president Kenneth Kaunda’s United National Independence Party (Unip), and the Liberal Progressive Front (LPF) led by Dr Rodger Chongwe have petitioned that Chiluba’s re- election is illegal.
Lawyers say the petition, lodged last week, would be heard by a full bench of the supreme court headed by Chief Justice Matthew Ngulube.
The two parties want the supreme court to declare that Chiluba, under Article 34 (3a) of the country’s controversial 1996 Constitution, “did not qualify to contest the elections, and to be elected president of Zambia, and that his re-election was void”.
The petitioners also want the supreme court to declare that Chiluba had “sworn falsely as to the citizenship of his parents and this is in contravention of section nine of the Electoral Act”.
There have been recent rumours, as yet unconfirmed, that he was actually born at Chibambo Mission in neighbouring Zaire.
On his presidential nomination papers, Chiluba filled out his father’s name as one Titus Chiluba Nkonde – Zambian – who died several years ago. But a pensioner of Zairean origin named Luka Chabala Kafupi has claimed that he is Chiluba’s real father.
Chiluba has denied these claims, and some of his ministers and relatives have mounted a vigorous campaign to discredit Kafupi. Although Chiluba has been challenged to take a DNA test, he has so far refused.
The petition reads: “That although the Respondent [Frederick Chiluba] has sworn for the purpose of his nomination to contest in the election that his father is Titus Chiluba Nkonde, a gentleman by the name of Luka Chabala Kafupi claims that he is the biological father of the respondent.”
Sakwiba Sikota, one of the lawyers who drew up the petition, said the parties will bring evidence that will show that Chiluba has, on different occasions, given conflicting names for his place of birth.
Chiluba has given his birthplace as Wusakile and Chamboli in Kitwe in the Copperbelt province. At other times, he has named his birth place as Musangu Village in Luapula province.
Another lawyer for the opposition groups, Sebastian Zulu, said in Zambia, like in many Commonwealth countries, if a court is convinced that only a scientific test will settle the matter conclusively “the court will be obliged to order a DNA test. Chiluba could be ordered to undergo such a test.”
Chongwe said, until the time of the hearing of the petition in the supreme court, Kafupi will remain at a secret location for fear of interference from the state. “We cannot leave things to chance,” he said.
Sikota said: “The law requires that a person contesting the election should be a Zambian citizen and his parents should be Zambian citizens by birth or descent. As stated in the petition, the respondent [Chiluba] does not meet these requirements and his controversial national status ought to be investigated.”
Two other opposition parties – Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) and Agenda for Zambia (AZ) – have jointly filed a separate petition in the supreme court challenging the re-election of Chiluba.
Dean Mung’omba, ZDC president, and Aka Lewanika, AZ president, in their petition contend that: “There is serious evidence suggesting that the 1996 presidential and general elections were systematically rigged and fixed through unjust and fraudulent manipulation of the electoral process.”
They said even the ballot papers and boxes used in the recent polls “ought to be surrendered into the custody of the court or some other neutral institution other than the electoral commission”.
The electoral commission has been widely condemned as a composition of cadres from Chiluba’s ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).